You knew that your aging parent needed help, you discussed it with them and agreed on having a family member taking care of them for foreseeable future.
You were ok with that at the time, you thought that you would be able to manage taking care of your own family and taking care of your mom or dad.
However, these weekly trips to the doctor’s office, cooking and cleaning as well as helping with hygiene and grooming is taking its toll on you.
Just know that you’re not alone. Here’s some stats
- people spend an average of 20 hours a week caring for an elderly parent for 4 years
- 1 out of 3 family caregivers at the same time is raising a child that’s under 18 years
- Almost 70% of adult caregivers take time off during the workday; 10% take an early retirement and 17% take a formal leave of absence
- adult caregivers have a 50% to 70% greater likelihood for depressive symptoms
- roughly 16% of American population provides care for someone that’s 50 years or older
It’s time to look for in-home caregiver agency for them or hire a private caregiver. Both you and your elderly parent agree that’s the right thing to do you just don’t know where to begin to hire a home care aide.
The transition from being a family caregiver to hiring an outside caretaker is hard for so many reasons but the questions below will help you make the process of vetting and hiring a caretaker easier.
Here are the main questions you should ask the home care agencies you’d be interviewing to ensure that your loved one will remain happy, healthy and safe:
- What happens if the caregiver has a last-minute emergency, gets sick or needs to go out of town? Can you send a replacement and how fast?
- Who is responsible for paying caregiver’s social security, federal and states taxes as well as unemployment insurance.
- Are they employees of the home care agency?
- Have the caregivers undergone background check as well as state abuse registry check?
- Are they allowed to live and work legally in the U.S?
- Who’s responsible if a caregiver gets injured in patient’s home – the receiver of home care or the agency (if it’s not the home care provider make sure that your homeowner’s insurance policy includes injuries to domestic employees)
- Is the home care company bonded and insured in case of injury or theft from patient’s home?
- Can a caregiver be replaced in case they don’t get along with the patient?
- Can we interview the caregiver to make sure they are a good fit?
- Can you provide references from past clients?
These are some good questions to ask caregiver companies during the interview process. They work both ways – they will them of your expectations and their answers will help you decide if they are reliable and can be trusted.
Related articles:
What is Home Care – Pros and Cons of Different Types of Home Care
How to Choose a Provider of Home Care Services
How to Tell When It’s Time to Call a Caregiver for Your Aging Parent
